Cyber Wizard
by cyberelf
Summary: *DISCONTINUED* The year is 2149. Humans and robots have been integrated into one, as have Muggles and Wizards. One wizard stands up to oppose the dominance of technology and restore the wizarding world to what it was. Contains elements from Ghost in the Shell.
1. Vision

Cyber-Wizard

**Chapter One**

**Vision**

The three-pronged mechanical claw worked furiously, carefully piecing together the transistors and computer chips. Hundreds of tiny copper wires were welded to the chips, connecting them, forming a system through which electrical stimulants could be sent.

The computer chips were carefully implanted into a web of neuro-fibers, enhancing the fibers' abilities, and becoming part of the fibers' normal functions. These neuro-chips, coupled with the computer panels the claw was working on, formed a human brain.

The mechanical brain was covered in a thin metal cap and placed into the steel skull of the cyborg. Once snugly in place, the back of the skull was welded together. Advanced sensors were installed in the area of the face. Small interceptors of sight and sound were installed in the areas for the ears and eyes. A sensor to receive and interpret smell was installed in the nose area, and taste sensors were put in place near the bottom of the face in what would become the mouth.

The prosthetic eyes, with artificial retinas, were set above the vision sensors and attached to them with wires. Camera lenses were installed for the pupils, whose pictures would be stored in the memory archives of the cyber-brain. Once they were welded in place, a needle injected a light sensitive fluid into the front of the eyeballs. Next went on the ears, nose, tongue, and teeth. The rest of the steel skull was sealed and carefully welded.

The head was welded to a metal neck, which was open at the throat. A prosthetic voice box, with its audio implants checked and rechecked, was set snugly into position. The chest was split open at the breastbone, where several mechanical claws were busy installing prosthetic lungs and a prosthetic heart. The intestines were carefully folded and placed in the prosthetic skeleton, along with the liver and kidneys. The artificial ribs and breastbone, made of a super-durable material necessary to protect the fragile prosthetic organs, were snapped shut once the organs were installed.

The mechanical claws were then set to the tedious task of constructing and weaving the thousands of veins throughout the body. They traveled from the toes, up the legs, through the torso, and into the mechanical skull, where the special fluid they carried would stimulate the cyber-brain and give strength to the rest of the body. Each prosthetic muscle fiber was built and assembled together. The artificial tendons connected these muscles. The claws moved the joints to their full to make sure they were built and installed properly. Several needles inserted themselves into the major veins and the heart, injecting the robot blood into them. The fluid coursed through the body, giving the body its first hint of life.

The body, suspended from the ceiling by cables, was covered in a steel skin. This bulletproof armor was welded carefully and inspected by a robotic eye. No flaws were found. The faceless prosthetic body, built with the female figure, was submerged in a pale blue liquid. After the body was taken out, the excess fluid was allowed to drip off. The mechanical form was then placed in a tub of thick white fluid. The coating these two substances created formed the cyborg's sense of touch, which was enhanced due to cyberization. Once allowed to thoroughly soak, the figure was placed inside a mold, where it remained for a long time. The cyborg's body received a thin layer of prosthetic human skin, the hair was added, fingernails were attached, and the face was molded.

Once out of the mold, the white coating on the body peeled away, revealing the pale skin of the cyborg. The body was muscular yet slim, and the face was typical of any female cyborg. The black hair flowed elegantly across the cyborg's broad shoulders. Wires were inserted into four outlets into the back of the neck. The human conscience intended for the body was transmitted through the wires and directly into the brain. Once the mind and ghost were installed, the wires released themselves and the body was laid on a table.

After several moments, the cyborg opened her black eyes. She stared blankly at the white walls around her.

Ryuuji woke with a start. The lights from the nearby city illuminated the shades with a soft pink glow, and the walls around him muffled the constant car noise. Ryuuji sat up and held his head, unable to get the image of the cyborg's face out of his mind. How many times had he had this dream now? Eight? Nine? It was hard to count, since it had recurred so often.

He sat in silence awhile, trying to think of the possible meaning of this dream. He knew very little about cyborgs; only that they were extremely common throughout the world. Fortunately he had been sheltered all his life from the computerized world around him. His family tutored him in the art of magic the old-fashioned way, and he was part of a small minority who did not embrace cyberization. Despite the fact that many wizards, including many purebloods, considered being human obsolete, Ryuuji preferred his carbon-based body. The last thing he wanted was to be incorporated into the Muggle world, as computers were a Muggle invention.

Though he knew little of what had happened to the world since his previous life. In his previous life, he had been the powerful Dark Lord Voldemort. Over 150 years ago, he had been the most powerful wizard alive. But he was destined, by his own doing, to be defeated by the boy Harry Potter. To ensure that Harry wouldn't succeed in completely terminating his life, he made one last horcrux and hid it well. However, his last horcrux was doomed to live life as little more than a bodiless spirit, never to be revived by any Death Eater. After years of no contact from any of his servants, he presumed the worst and allowed himself to be reincarnated. Born to one of the last of the old pureblooded wizard families, Ryuuji possessed all the knowledge, powers, memories, and personality of Lord Voldemort, including the ability to speak Parseltongue. He dismissed the modern world, yet nonetheless sought to regain his former power and prestige, not to mention reestablish his following. To do this, he felt he needed to know more about the world and times he was forced to live in.

He had been absent for so long. He was beginning to wonder if anyone remembered anything of the past. Surely they must remember the Dark Lord that struck fear into the hearts of everyone? Or had everyone become so wrapped up in their technology that they had forgotten even that? Despite having all of his powers, in his heart Ryuuji knew that his ascension to power would not be easy. He could no longer gain the support of most of the old wizard families, since most of them had cyberized long ago. There were no death eaters left alive, and few seemed to have interest for magic in their modern lives.

Despite this, magic still existed. And magic, it seemed, was what was causing this dream of his to plague him. Ryuuji got up, hoping that some fresh air would clear his mind. He stepped outside, and the noise of the city grew louder. This irritated him, for he always preferred calm silence. But that was no longer to be found. Everything now moved so fast. Everyone was always in a hurry, always going somewhere, yet at the same time going nowhere. He let the cool night wind toss his black hair as he tried to clear his mind.

The dream had allowed him to get a good look at the woman's face. Her visage was burned into his memory, making it impossible to forget. But he had no idea who she was or why she was important to him. But she must play some part in his life, or Fate would not be showing him this dream. And Fate clearly favored him, since she had allowed him to live this long.

In a way, his absence was a benefit. There was no Harry Potter to stop him. He had been given the chance to start again anew and not make the same mistakes he made last time. Hell, there was little stopping him now that no one seemed to remember anything before the invention of the neuro-chip. But the Ministry of Magic still existed, and until it was either overthrown or taken over, it would always pose a threat to him.

Ryuuji was unable to get anything out of his dream, and decided to wait patiently for something to happen that would give him a clue as to what Fate had in store for him.

Three low-flying jets sped across the sky, breaking what little silence there was. They raced off toward the city, and their sound gradually echoed and faded away. Ryuuji had always despised Muggles; now more than ever. For their pity inventions had infiltrated the wizarding world and even went so far as to poison the pureblooded families.

Ryuuji decided to return inside, fully prepared to see the mechanical woman assembled before his eyes again.

_**Author's Note: The plot of this story was planned out before the release of Harry Potter book 7. Therefore, ANY AND ALL EVENTS of **__**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**__** WILL BE DISREGARDED!**_


	2. Twilight

Cyber-Wizard

**Chapter Two**

**Twilight**

"Will it be the usual today?" the bartender asked.

"Yes," Ryuuji replied placing a few coins on the counter.

The bartender placed the drink in front of him. "Business has been slow of late," he said, "you're the only loyal customer I have left."

"So it seems," Ryuuji said coldly, taking a sip.

After a few moments of silence, the bartender took a seat behind the counter. "Is something troubling ya, kid?" he asked. "You look kind of lost."

"Ohzora," Ryuuji said, "have you ever heard of a place called Diagon Alley?"

"Sure I've heard of it," Ohzora replied, "it was a grand wizard shopping plaza in its heyday a hundred years ago. Now the entire thing's been turned into a museum. All the shops are historical exhibits, and the inhabitants are all rein actors. I went there once as a boy. The rein actors pretend they don't know what prosthetics are and wear robes all the time. Funny how times have changed in the past hundred or so years."

"Yes," Ryuuji said, "there was a time when wizards wanted nothing to do with Muggles and their pitiful technology."

"Most of us have never known of such a time," Ohzora commented, "Muggle technology is an essential part of everyone's lives now. Only the old-fashioned and the very old know what it's like not to have cyber-implants." He held up his right hand and flexed the fingers, and his expression grew solemn. "See this arm?" he said. "Looks real don't it? It's not. I lost it ten years ago in a car crash. Instead of using magic to try and heal it, the doctors immediately replaced it with a prosthetic one...supposedly good as new. It will be just like your old one, the doctors said, you'll forget that it isn't real. That's what they tell all the people they 'enhance' with prosthetics and micro-machines nowadays. But I beg to differ. Every time I look at this arm I feel like I'm slowly becoming more and more machine. Majority of people get cybernetic implants in the brain at birth, including myself. This arm reminds me that part of my brain, my very being, is machine. And people think one mechanical arm is no big deal. Hell, some people replace their whole bodies with prosthetics when they don't even need them. They're convinced that cyberization is the key to immortality. But I'm very self-conscious of this arm. I don't want to be a machine, but I feel like the world is forcing me and everyone else to become cyborg. Twilight is nearing for the human race, and soon it will be night. When that happens, we will either completely become a race of machines, or will die out altogether."

"I have no cybernetic implants," Ryuuji replied, "I was fortunate enough never to receive any at birth. Every part of me is purely human."

"That is extremely rare," Ohzora said, "personally, I congratulate you on maintaining your humanity."

"Thank you," Ryuuji said finishing his drink.

"Being human is considered obsolete now," Ohzora said, "magic is falling by the way-side. Who needs schools of magic? Who has time anymore for prophecies, spells, and potions anymore? No one of importance, that's for sure. I heard that several ancient magical arts have become extinct."

"What about the Dark Arts?" Ryuuji asked.

"There has been the occasional dark witch or wizard," Ohzora answered, "but none of them have really done anything of significance. No, it is my understanding that the Dark Arts are nearing extinction as well, though I can't say for certain. Who knows what goes on in the dark streets of old historic Knockturn Alley! Have you ever heard of it?"

Ryuuji nodded.

"Knockturn Alley's not too far from here, only about a kilometer or so" Ohzora replied, "you see a ton of cops over there. You look out the window of this place and half the time you see a cop or one of them Aurors runnin' after some wizard who's gone and done somethin' wrong. Though I'm sure the dark wizards are getting the hint and moving their Dark Arts elsewhere."

"I'm sure," Ryuuji said pensively. "I haven't experienced much of the outside world. You could say I've lived a sheltered life. I value the old ways, and I want to find those others who still do as well. Do you know where I could find any of them?"

"No clue," Ohzora answered, "you're on yer own on that one, kid."

"I see," Ryuuji whispered. Ryuuji gave the bartender a tip and left.

He stepped outside into the cold street. A light drizzle fell, but the people in the market square didn't seem to mind. Ryuuji could smell the white robot blood that was in many of them, and it disgusted him. As he stepped toward the crowd, someone came running toward him. The running stranger would have collided with him had he not hastily jumped out of the way. The stranger stumbled anyway, and the crowd gasped and parted.

The stranger took out an automatic pistol and shot madly at three cops pursuing him. The crowd screamed and fled, and the cops ducked out of the way. The stranger ceased shooting and pulled up the hood of his black sweatshirt, instantly rendering him invisible. The three cops ran in his direction, firing madly.

"Damnitt!" A burly man cried. "A thermo-optic cammo?! That smily ghost-hacker knows all the tricks now doesn't he?!" He knelt down not too far from Ryuuji and put his finger in a tiny red pool on the pavement. "Looks like we wounded 'in though," the man said standing up, "he won't be able to run as fast now."

"Oshii," a woman cop yelled to him, "cover my six, I'm going after him!" She turned to the other man with her. "Hirano," she said, "call for backup ASAP, and tell them send in armored mechas as well!"

"I'm on it Lt. Commander," Hirano said running off.

"Go get 'im, Makoto!" Oshii yelled, raising his fist.

Makoto took off in a run. As she passed Ryuuji, she put a visor over her eyes, rendering her invisible. But before she could cloak herself, Ryuuji got a good look at her.

She had black hair, most of which was suspended in a long braid down her back. A section of shorter hair hugged her face, and her bang draped low across her forehead. She had broad shoulders and black eyes. Her body was thin and muscular. On the back of her neck were four wire-outlets, advertising to the world that she was a cyborg.

The face of the cyborg, to Ryuuji's amazement, was identical to the face of the cyborg from his dreams.


	3. Metropolis

Cyber-Wizard

**Chapter Three**

**Metropolis**

"Cops," Ohzora said, "I just saw ten of them go running by. Something must be terribly wrong for the police to send an entire squad over this way."

Ryuuji sat alone in a dark corner, uninterested in talking to the barkeep. He twirled his black wand between his long fingers, and was too deep in thought to respond to Ohzora.

"Last time they sent a squad was when some idiot Dark Wizard was discovered trying to grow a Basilisk in his Knockturn Alley apartment." Ohzora continued as if to himself. "Though I don't know what good that'd done 'im. Only Parslemouths can control them, and Parslemouths don't exist anymore!"

Ryuuji silently laughed at the ignorance of his comment. Little did the barkeep know that a Parslemouth was sitting only ten feet from him.

Ryuuji had recently visited Knockturn Alley. It was a mere shadow of what it once was, but according to the residents, it was one of the last places anyone could find true remnants of the old world. Although they didn't tell him much else, fearing that he was a spy for the Ministry or Public Security.

He spent the next two hours deep in thought, with the barkeep cleaning and re-cleaning his counter, waiting desperately for a paying customer. Eventually someone opened the door to the pub.

Ohzora hastily put away his cleaning rag and happily greeted the customer.

Ryuuji looked up to see who had entered. His black hood shrouded his face in shadow. He was glad to see that the person who entered was the cyborg he had seen so many times, yet never met.

She wore a skin-tight black jumpsuit, for easy movement during combat, and heavy military boots. Draped across her back as a leather jacket, with the Public Security emblem sewn into the right arm. On the top of each shoulder of the coat was sewn the emblem for Lt. Commander. She removed her black visor-like sunglasses when she entered the dark pub and sat down at the bar, holding her head in her gloved hands.

"A large brandy please," she said.

"Bad day?" Ohzora asked.

"You can't imagine," the cyborg replied.

Ohzora prepared the drink and she gladly drank it. Ryuuji got up and strode silently to the bar. He took a seat next to the woman and asked Ohzora for his usual.

"May I ask what's wrong?" Ryuuji asked her.

The cyborg sighed. "I hate ghost-dubbing."

Ryuuji looked at her quizzically. "You don't know what I'm talking about?" the cyborg asked. Ryuuji shook his head.

The woman sighed and took another sip. "Ghost-dubbing is a process in which a person's ghost is forcibly ripped apart," she said, "the fragments, mere shadows of the original conscious, are placed into AI units that are then programmed to do whatever the programmer desires. The original dies after the completion of the process. A few days ago we received intelligence that people had been disappearing again in Knockturn Alley. The victims vanished as soon as they entered the old shop 'Borgin and Burkes.' This morning we moved in, expecting just to catch another murderer. Instead, we found the owner in possession of a ghost-dubbing system and an entire battalion of empty robot shells."

She took another drink before she continued. "The Dark Wizard that owned Borgin and Burkes was putting pieces of ghosts into robots who would be programmed to kill innocent Muggles for him. I know I should be happy that we nailed him, but ghost-dubbing deeply disturbs me. I guess you could say my boggart is ghost-dubbing." She looked at Ryuuji's calm expression. "Why am I even telling you this?" she asked in disgust.

"Why do you fear this thing so much?" Ryuuji asked.

"I don't know," she replied, "I guess it's because I fear for the existence of my own ghost."

"Please explain," Ryuuji said.

"I used to get ghost-whispers during my days as a Cyber-Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic. My ghost used to give me hints as to what to do, and used to tell me good from bad, and right from wrong. But shortly after they handed me over to Public Security, the whispers stopped altogether. I know I'm not human, but my ghost made me feel like I still had some humanity left in me. But without it, I feel lost. I fear ghost-dubbing because I sometimes think that maybe I'm a product of it. There's no way of knowing whether one remains completely intact after cyberization."

She shook her head and finished her drink. "What the hell am I saying?" she snapped. "That comment was ludicrous! Barkeep, I need another brandy!"

"I never got your name," Ryuuji replied.

"Lt. Commander Makoto Takahashi."

Makoto Takahashi. What an extremely boring and common name. It was obviously an alias, Ryuuji thought to himself.

"I never got your name either," Makoto said grabbing her drink.

"Ryuuji Nakamura."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ryuuji rekindled the conversation. "So you're a witch, huh?"

"Yes," Makoto replied, "I had magical powers before I cyberized, or at least that's what my superiors tell me. Quite frankly I don't remember a thing before I became a cyborg, which has me fearing that my mind was tampered with during cyberization. Though I don't know. Maybe I'm just going crazy."

Ryuuji smirked. She seemed so familiar to him. He felt as if he had known her before this.

"My job sucks," Makoto said leaning back, "while I like the excitement of chasing after criminals through the metropolis, and hunting down hackers through cyber-space, I feel like there's more to life than busting bad guys. Ah hell, maybe these 'bad guys' aren't as bad as the government leads us to believe they are, especially the 'evil wizards'. I mean, we've confiscated dozens of dark magical artifacts, but does anyone bother to examine them, see what they do, or see if they can be put to good use? No! Of course not! Instead of fulfilling their functions, they sit in storage and rot from the amount of dust they collect!"

Ryuuji laughed silently. A long time ago, one of his recently added death eaters had said something very similar about the basements of the Ministry of Magic. He looked behind the counter. Luckily, Ohzora had been in his back room for some time and hadn't heard any of this.

Makoto took another long drink. "I must admit," she continued, "a part of me, a small part, is intrigued by the Dark Arts."

She now had every ounce of his attention.

"I know I can be court-marshaled just for _saying_ that, but it's the truth. I don't know what it is, but every time I step into Knockturn Alley a part of me feels as if I belong there. Does that sound crazy?"

"Not at all," Ryuuji said, "everyone has the capacity for power, and the Dark Arts are the key to that power. If you feel you have the ability to embrace Dark Magic and obtain that power, then don't deny your urges."

Makoto finished her drink and said nothing.


	4. The Lost Wars

Cyber-Wizard

**Chapter Four**

**The Lost Wars**

"No one has been able to obtain any great power from the Dark Arts, or any magic for that matter," Makoto continued.

"There was one," Ryuuji said darkly, "long ago, one was able to fully utilize the Dark Arts and become the most powerful wizard alive."

"And who might that be?" Makoto asked.

"Are you telling me that you've never heard of the Dark Lord whom all feared one-hundred and fifty years ago?"

"What was his name?"

Ryuuji smiled evilly and replied, "Lord Voldemort."

"Never heard of him," Makoto said casually.

"What?" Ryuuji exclaimed, his eyes glinting red.

"I said, I've never heard of anyone by that name. I've been through the archives of the Ministry more times than I can count. So if I don't know him, there's a good chance that he doesn't exist."

Ryuuji tried to swallow his shock and rage. How could the world have forgotten he whom they had feared so much before? He, who had been the most powerful Dark Lord of his time? How could he be forgotten?

"Though now that I think about it," Makoto continued, "the archives were a bit vague during a period of about fifty years during the twentieth century."

Ryuuji said nothing. Fifty years of history were gone? The fifty years of history that had been the zenith of his power had been lost forever, or so it seemed.

"I am clearly further behind the times than I originally thought," Ryuuji commented clenching his fist under the counter.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Do you know where I can access records of events one-hundred and fifty years ago?" Ryuuji asked.

"Sure," Makoto said, "There's a public archive in the city where you can get digital recreations of newspapers from further back than that."

"Where is it?" Ryuuji asked.

"I'll tell you what," Makoto said, "I'm heading that way anyway, so I'll take you there myself. Trying to give directions through the chaotic web of the city streets is too hard."

Ryuuji was about to tell her that he could travel there himself, but he said nothing. Something told him to trust her and go with her. "Fine," he said after a while, "but can't we just Apparate there?"

"No," Makoto replied, "most of the buildings have anti-Apparation fields surrounding them. The entire city has been covered in one big anti-Apparation field as a result of how close together all the buildings are. And there's too much traffic in the city to drive. So the only way to get around is by train or foot."

Ryuuji nodded and grabbed his coat. Makoto left a few coins on the counter and followed Ryuuji out of the pub.

Ryuuji looked out at the blurred city outside the train windows. The night sky above him lacked visible stars, due to the amount of light in the metropolis that never slept.

"This is your first time here, isn't it?" Makoto asked him.

"Yes," Ryuuji said coldly.

"This city is only a small fraction of the metropolis that covers most of the land on earth. As each individual city grew over the years, they began to overlap, creating one almost continuous megalopolis."

Ryuuji's mind traveled to the very distant past, when he was still a teenager going to Hogwarts. He remembered the desolation that surrounded the place he had loved so much. No one had mentioned Hogwarts since he was reborn, not even his parents, though he had never asked them about it. Now, three years after he had left them, he wished he had. He suddenly feared for Hogwarts. Had this age of machines and all consuming cities destroyed the place of his heritage? Was the modern world not only threatening the survival of the pureblooded Wizards but also Hogwarts itself? Ohzora had mentioned once that no one had the time for schools of magic anymore, but surely there must be some left that kept Hogwarts alive all this time. Surely the deep magic that was sealed within its walls had protected the school from the metropolis and the machines.

The trained slowed to a stop and Makoto led him out into the street. "The archive is four blocks straight down this street and on the right," she said, "you can't miss it."

"Thank you," Ryuuji said. He watched her get back on the next train before leaving.


End file.
